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RX-78-2 Gundam
RX-78-2 '''is the first main mech of Mobile Suit Gundam, an anime from the Gundam franchise. It is piloted by '''Amuro Ray. Background It is the year 0079 of the Universal Century. A half-century has passed since Earth began moving its burgeoning population into gigantic orbiting space colonies - a new home for mankind, where people are born, raised and die. Nine months ago, the cluster of colonies furthest from the Earth, called Side 3, proclaimed itself the Principality of Zeon and launched a war of independence against the Earth Federation. Initial fighting lasted over one month and saw both sides lose half their respective populations. People were horrified by the indescribable atrocities that had been committed in the name of independence, mainly accomplished by Zeon’s use of the advanced and massive humanoid combat vehicles called Mobile Suits. When the war entered a stalemate after 8 months of fighting, the Federation began plans for “Project V”, a development program formed with the intent to produce a Mobile Suit design that can be manufactured en masse to counter the Zeon advance. This lead to the creation of the RX-78 series of “Gundams”, prototype Mobile Suits said to be much more advanced than any other model that came before it. Before they can be field-tested, their holding facility in the Side 7 colony is razed by a Zeon platoon during their attempt to ambush a massive Federation flagship called the White Base. In the ensuing pandemonium, the RX-78-2 unit is discovered by a civilian boy named Amuro Ray, who proceeded to successfully operate it in defense of his home. Despite having never fought or piloted a Mobile Suit in his life prior to that day, Amuro’s inborn nature as a genetically advanced human being called a Newtype allowed him to commandeer the Gundam with the skill level of a heavily-experienced pilot that belied his once-innocent nature. It was such a display which caused the Federation to reluctantly recruit him into their ranks to defend the colony survivors aboard the White Base with the Gundam. In time, Amuro evolved from being a shy and mischievous mechanic who only cared about his own survival into the battle-tested war hero he was destined to be as he and the RX-78-2 became collectively known as the Federation’s feared “White Devil” for their continued exploits against Zeon’s might. Powers & Abilities *'Experimental Upgrades':The brainchild of scientist Tem Ray and other Federation scientists, the RX-78 prototypes were made to be much more technologically advanced than any other Mobile Suit model that existed at the time, and it shows with many of its unique features and armaments. For one, it was equipped with a prototype Core Block System that allows any of its pilots to operate the various weapon modules attached to the Gundam through a sole Core module. These smaller ships essentially serve as cockpits for their Mobile Suits which are docked in hollow spaces located inside the chest area. If ever the Suits were sufficiently damaged enough, they could be used to help their pilots escape and preserve any combat data stored within their hard drives. Speaking of which, the Gundam also contains an advanced Learning Computer System which not only collected data from skirmishes but analyzed it to further improve the machine’s performance and essentially function by itself via autopilot, even if its pilot were a total novice. This was conceived to act as a way for the Federation to avoid the long and drawn-out training routines for newer pilots and have the units be combat-ready as early as possible. Technician Mosque Han later upgraded its systems before the Battle of A Baoa Qu to further increase its reaction times; this was accomplished with the aid of a special magnetic coating on its limb joints that allowed it to keep pace with Amuro’s increasingly faster reflexes. The Gundam itself stands at 18.5 meters, can travel up to 102 mph and weighs around 60 tons, making it lighter than most mass-produced Mobile Suits that are roughly 10 tons heavier. This is due to the alloy which comprises its body: Luna Titanium, a lightweight off-shoot of Titanium that remains immensely durable in its own right. While hard to properly maintain and repair, its benefits became clear when the Gundam was regularly deployed in combat. Heavy machine gun fire can barely dent it and even particle laser weapons fail to put it down for good unless hit by a sustained assault. The Suit also contains a specialized heat-resistant film and coolant system which helps it survive atmospheric re-entry. All these combined with its weapons made it one of the deadliest war machines used throughout the Universal Century, even as Amuro’s powers were far too much for it to handle reliably. Most of the upgrades given to the RX-78-2 were later applied to the other mass-produced RX-line Mobile Suits, making the Gundam name well-known by individuals from Earth and Zeon alike. Equipment *'Beam Saber/Javelin': The RX-78-2 Gundam is the first Mobile Suit within the U.C. era to utilize a beam-based melee weapon. In this case, it takes the form of its dual Beam Sabers. The sabers’ plasma blades are made of Minovsky Particles held in place by an I-field which can cut through almost any material. Those particles are formed from an energy capacitor (E-Cap) located within the hilt and are recharged while it is sheathed in a storage unit located near the Gundam’s reactor. Amuro mainly fights with one Saber active in tandem with the Gundam’s shield, although he is proficient enough in dual-wielding both if needed. The Beam Saber can also be reformatted to form the Beam Javelin, which increases the weapon’s length to make it more akin to a pole arm. *'60mm Vulcan Guns': Mounted on top of the RX-78-2’s head is a pair of 60mm gatling guns, which are meant to primarily ward off smaller targets and take on enemy aircraft and on-foot infantry while preserving the more limited and stronger ammunition of its other weapons. Although the guns have a high rate-of-fire, its rounds are ineffective against ordinary Mobile Suits and other heavily armored targets unless the weapons are shot from point-blank range. *'Hyper Hammer': Contrary to what the name implies, the Gundam Hammer is not a warhammer or anything of the sort, but rather a ball-and-chain flail weapon which has a slightly longer reach than the Beam Saber and specializes in dealing blunt-force damage through the mass of the spiked ball. It was later upgraded to the Hyper Hammer, with several rockets mounted onto the ball to increase the damage it can produce and the amount of control the Gundam has over it in space. *'BAUVA*XBR-M-79-07G Beam Rifle': This experimental firearm serves as the Gundam’s primary weapon and is hailed for being groundbreaking for its time thanks to its implementation of E-cap technology. It makes use of charges made of Minovsky Particles as ammunition; when fired, these can penetrate enemy armor and destroy objects on a molecular scale. At best, each of these blasts can destroy entire warships in a single shot. While a fearsome weapon on par with those wielded by larger Mobile Armors, the Beam Rifle can only be fired 16 times before being emptied. Trying to refill those charges in the middle of a battle can be difficult, as they can only be recharged by equipment located in a nearby base of operations. *'BLASH*XHB-L-03/N-STD Hyper Bazooka': The most powerful weapon in the RX-78-2’s arsenal, the Hyper Bazooka fires 380mm rockets which yield a payload of 40 kilotons to attack heavily armored targets and can easily one-shot mass-produced Mobile Suits. While destructive, its rate of fire and reloading speeds are slower than that of the Beam Rifle’s and its ammo capacity is even more limited to boot. *'RX*M-Sh-008/S-01025 Shield': This simple shield serves as the RX-78-2’s primary line of defense against any attack, whether ranged or physical. As per its design, it is mostly wielded in conjunction with a Beam Saber in close-quarters combat, although it can also be stored on the Gundam’s back when not in use. Most have described as being sturdier than the Luna Titanium which comprises the Gundam's body, allowing it to reliably take attacks which could possibly damage it. *'G-Fighter': The G-Fighter is versatile support vehicle that assists the RX-78-2 on the field, either by directly participating in combat with its beam cannon and missile launcher or scouting locations ahead of the Gundam for reconnaissance purposes. It is comprised of two halves: G-Parts A - the cockpit, weapons systems and treads for ground transport and G-Parts B - the four-engine fuselage. Two of these have been deployed to help Amuro over the course of Mobile Suit Gundam, with Sayla having piloted one of them. It can also combine with the RX-78-2 directly for certain situations. The G-Armor is the primary form of transport for both component units while on the ground; although it is heavily armored, it sacrifices a lot of speed and agility. The G-Sky is its inverse; it has a lot of mobility due to being airborne, but it cannot defend itself due to lacking the heavier weapons of its other forms. Finally, the Gundam Sky combines the upper half of the RX-78-2 with the B Parts, allowing it to fight more effectively while in flight at the expense of the flexibility afforded to it by its legs. Feats Strength *Vulcan cannons can cut through a Zaku's armor if used point-blank. *Beam Saber strikes can one-shot an Acguy, which can shrug off heavy projectile fire. *The Beam Saber can penetrate the armor of a Mobile Armor, which previously no-sold the Beam Rifle. *Threw a 75.4 ton MS-OB Gouf *Can lift and throw Zakus, which weigh 73 tons. *The Gundam Hammer can one-shot Zakus. *One hit from the Hyper Bazooka can destroy a large section of a battleship. *Destroyed a Musai by throwing its Beam Javelin at it. *Obliterated a Musai warship in one shot. *Shot down the Elmeth's hypersonic bits. *The Beam Rifle can destroy buildings and battleships in one hit. Speed *Surprisingly agile, capable of doing wall jumps, dive rolls and flips. *Dodged a close range missile. *Amuro can move faster than the Gundam itself can keep up whilst using his Newtype abilities. *Can shoot missiles mid-air. *Can dodge attacks even without looking at the enemy. *Outsped Char's legendary suits. *Is comparable, if not superior to Zeon Mobile Suits like the Zaku II, which can hit double-digit Mach speeds. Durability *Became the first Gundam and pilot combination to survive atmospheric re-entry, albeit not through raw durability alone. *Took hits from a Zaku’s 120mm rifle with no visible damage. *Took very little damage after being blown back by a Gouf’s heat rod. *Survived a missile barrage from a Gouf while already heavily damaged. *The Gundam can still function perfectly fine after having its head and limbs severed/destroyed. *Tanked a hit from the MAN-08 Elmeth, which can destroy a Magellan-class battleship. *Survived an exploding asteroid. *Withstood a 4,000°F magnetic field. *Survived a Zaku's nuclear reactor detonation. Skill *Destroyed the Zeong prototype Mobile Suit from Zeon, at the cost of its own destruction. *Its design was later used as the basis for more advanced Mobile Suit models, including its immediate successors: the RX-78NT-1 Gundam NT-1 "Alex" and RX-93 Nu Gundam. *Helped end the One-Year War on behalf of the Earth Federation, forcing the Principality of Zeon to temporarily disband. *Defended the White Base from multiple Zeon attacks. *Defeated Lt. Ramba Ral and the MS-07 Gouf prototype. *Defeated Lalah & Black Tri-Stars. *Defeated the MAX-03 Adzam Mobile Armor piloted by Kycilia Zabi and M’Quve. *Amuro Ray would later participate in the Earth Federation’s subsequent wars with Neo Zeon. With the Nu Gundam, he prevented the Axis asteroid base from colliding with Earth alongside soldiers from both Neo Zeon and the Federation, but the act forced its psychoframe to overload, supposedly killing him. (The novels officially declared Amuro as “killed-in-action”, while the anime simply states that he is “missing.”) *Amuro's Newtype instincts allow him to see enemy weak points. *Whether it was with this Mobile Suit or others, Amuro has been able to consistently defeat Char several times through the events of Mobile Suit Gundam and beyond. **Char earned his status as Zeon’s ace pilot through many consistent performances in battle, like destroying 5 Magellan-class battleships during the Battle of Loum. *Single-handedly managed to protect the White Base from a Zeon ambush in North America. *Participated in Operation Odessa, where Amuro used it to defeat several Zeon aces and disarm a nuclear warhead mid-flight during the battle. This was stated to be the turning point for the One-Year War on behalf of the Earth Federation. *Defeated 9 Rick Doms near Side 6 within three minutes. *Can easily battle enemies underwater. Weaknesses * '''Outdated: '''Owing to its nature as a prototype and part of the first wave of Gundams, the RX-78-2 is outdated in comparison to many of the advanced models developed in the later parts of the U.C. continuity. Several factors behind this include the very limited ammo capacity for its ranged weapons, Amuro still being vulnerable enough to getting knocked out if the Gundam is hit with particularly strong attacks and itself eventually being considered too slow by his Newtype reflexes to fully take advantage of. This is reinforced further by the fact that the RX-78-2 is currently out of commission after it was destroyed in the battle of A Baoa Qu. * '''Newtype Limits: '''Amuro has limits on his Newtype powers, which could result in him failing to react against incoming attacks. For example, he can’t use them to dodge attack far faster than he can perceive or at speeds the Gundam cannot move at, and he often faces his greatest challenges when confronted with other Newtypes who can utilize the same tactics he employs to a greater degree than he does. Even with them, he still is as human and mortal as much as any other person and is as susceptible to the same weaknesses they are, and the amount of mental and emotional trauma he has undergone since being forced to participate in the U.C.’s various wars has taken its toll on him.